1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a jumper cable system for jump starting one vehicle from the electrical power of another vehicle.
2. Background of the Prior Art
If a vehicle's battery becomes dead, the usual procedure is to jump start the vehicle from another vehicle. A set of jumper cables are connected between the two vehicles and the live vehicle provides the starting electrical power for the dead vehicle. While this system is tried and true, it is not without its drawbacks. As the jumper cables are attached directly to the battery, the person performing this task is placed in harm's way should the battery explode, a not totally uncommon event. Additionally, the jumper cables can be mis-attached wherein a jumper cable that is meant to be attached to a positive terminal is attached to a negative terminal, or vice versa. Such a situation creates the potential for battery explosion as well as damage to one or both vehicles.
In order to reduce the risk for injury or damage during the jump start procedure, various jumper cable systems have been proposed. However, the proposed systems are unreliable in operation, or are unduly complex to use, or are of relatively complex design and construction resulting in a relatively expensive jumper cable system.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a jumper cable system that addresses the above-mentioned problems in the art. Such a jumper cable system must reduce the risk of injury to a user resulting from a battery explosion. Such a system must be of relatively simple and straightforward design and construction and must be relatively easy to use. The jumper cable system must be able to prevent cross wiring of the negative and positive terminals of the two batteries to be connected.